Reduce to lowest terms: $- \dfrac{1}{3} \div \dfrac{1}{4} = {?}$
Solution: Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal of the fraction. The reciprocal of $ \dfrac{1}{4}$ is $ \dfrac{4}{1}$ Therefore: $ - \dfrac{1}{3} \div \dfrac{1}{4} = - \dfrac{1}{3} \times \dfrac{4}{1} $ $ \phantom{- \dfrac{1}{3} \times \dfrac{4}{1}} = \dfrac{-1 \times 4}{3 \times 1} $ $ \phantom{- \dfrac{1}{3} \times \dfrac{4}{1}} = \dfrac{-4}{3} $